February 2017 – Pew Research revealed in a December 2016 report titled “Religion and Education Around the World” that educational attainment varies by religion. Overall, Jews and Christians are the most educated. On average, Jews receive 13.4 years of formal schooling, Christians 9.3 years, Buddhists 7.9 years, and Muslims and Hindus 5.6 years. Those with no religious affiliation have 8.8 years of schooling. Among Muslims and Hindus, two out of five have no formal schooling. Religious groups in the same regions of the world still may show distinct disparity in educational levels – such as in sub-Saharan Africa where Muslims are more than twice as likely as Christians to have no formal education.

The report states: “Some scholars suggest that the source of the Christian-Muslim attainment gap is rooted in the location of Christian missionary activity [building educational facilities] during colonial times.”

The gender gap in education follows the same pattern according to religion, with Jews and Christians having the smallest difference between men and women, and Hindus and Muslims having the largest gap.